Ok, so the name is still up in the air now but I wanted to make the announcement. I have most of the parts but still need to order more. The cab will be based on Scott's Unicade design. Monitor is a Betson Imperial 27". CP will be a custom design with side buttons for Pinball. I have a few Choices for the PC, not sure which way I am going to go with it yet. Coin Door is a standard Happs over under and the KB encoder is a Mini-Pac with a Happs trackball connector. Pics will follow...

Here is the Control Panel Design I am about 95% sure I am going to go with. Notice how the right joystick (Perfect 360 on both sides) is on the opposite side. I love playing my 1942 - twin cobra games with the joystick in my right hand. The local bowling alley next to me had a twin cobra game (my fav) set up like this and I am pretty sure that is the way I am going to go. I feel a little guilty about not having a fighting CP set up but I never played any of the fighting games growing up and really don't care for them. My friends like them, but will just have to make due. Maybe they will get hooked on the Pinball piece?? Who knows.

Ok, just a few more pics to tide you over. Garage is a little messy but you get the idea. I was going to use the cab you see in the pic but it will not take a 27" monitor. So I am going to build this sucker from scratch.

The casters are from Harbor Freight and were $3 each. The speakers are from a circuit city clearance and were $10.

Thanks for the feedback. You guys have me thinking now. The pluses are that most of the time the right controller will not be used. Most of the guys playing on this are in their late 30's early 40's. Pac-man, missle command, joust, dig dug. marble madness, elevator action, 1941.. and one of my favorites asteroids. It will be a big 1p cabinet most of the time. The layout is nice for asteroids using the 2 outer buttons and the one under the trackball.

Still, you guys make a valid point and I am going to do some serious thinking about it. I have to cut all the wood still so I have a while.

I like to play games "goofy foot" too (with the stick in my right hand.)Consequently, I think I'm building multiple CP's. The majority of the time I'll have my preferred single player CP on the cabinet, and when others come over I'll switch it out.

The thing is, since you are going through all this trouble to build the cabinet, you do not want someone who likes fighters to come over very excited only to see they can not play like the true arcades.

After going through the trouble of building, the worst thing to here is .... "You should have done ....." or "Why didn't you do this .....".

Anyway, my 2 cents.

PS: Keep in mind that you will most likely have this many, many, many years and newer friends down the road or even your kids will experiment with many other games you did not know existed yet. It would be a shame if you had the games to play but could not play them ......

also..IMO.. have a try at setting up your main play buttons to suit natural hand/arm ergonomics. That is, when you 'step-up-to-the-plate' and grab that joystick, your elbows naturally sit out next your ribs, placing your main button(s) hand at a 30-45deg angle.

Test that ergonomic layout before you decide on it. I didn't like it and went with the straight 6 button Capcom layout. If your stick/panel layout puts your wrist at the incorrect angle for the ergonomic layout, it won't be comfortable at all. My panel has tapered left and right sides that let the player move around a little. That also made it easy to get at a bad angle for the ergo button layout. The straight layout worked better for me.

I have ergonomic on mine, but honestly I think I would go with straight if I were to do it over.

Ergonomic feels great if I am the only one playing, and can stand with my elbows comfortably out, but when playing with other people there is not that space for spreading out, and the ergonomic layout sucks when you can't be positioned properly for it.

On the other hand, the straight layout is much easier to adapt to, regardless of the angle you are standing.

I am still working out the details for the CP. Meanwhile.. I made the first cut(s) today. It has been a while since I ripped 2x4's. The first few pieces were off. My advice if you haven't cut wood in years is to practice first on a few scrap pieces to get a feel for where you need to mark vs where the blade actually meets the wood. Luckily I bought a spare 2x4 so it wasn't a major catastrophe but definitely a learning experience. My cab design calls for a frame to be built and then attach the MDF side panes to the frame. The frame will hopefully be done this week and then I can start cutting the sides. I have to admit that will be the big hurdle getting the sides cut to size and attached. I would post pics but is just a handfull of pieces of chopped 2x4's. I will snap some shots when the frame stats to come together.

I built a Saw board to help with construction. There is a great post on the top of Project Announcements that will tell you exactly what to do. I used it to make the 'base' of my frame and will use it when cutting the MDF sides, back and front.

Been out of it for a while due to a nasty flu. Need to get back in to the swing of things and start working on my cab again. I picked up a real cost effective (read cheap) router from Harbor Freight. Router with a set of bits plus the 3 wing slot cutting bits was $90. Router was 40 and the bits 50. Not a bad deal all in all. It is a low end router but I am not going to use it that much at all. I tested out the slot cutter and works great. Routing was much easier than I had thought.

Spent the bulk of today woking on my sides. Got one side done. With any luck the second side will go a lot quicker. You will notice that I am doing all my cuts in the front yard. I could not imagine cutting MDF indoors or even in a closed garage. Man that stuff gets everywhere! I guess that is why they make masks tho ...

Looks like you might have had the same problem I did. Saw motor hits the clamps? That top bit of the saw board, I found, needed to be longer.

One other thing I found... the slot bit doesn't fit through the hole in the base of the router. I had to lock the plunge down, instert the bit, then set the plunge to the right depth and lock it in place. I was terrified the plunge would unlock and the bit would shatter against the base and send bits of metal into my brain.

Looks like you might have had the same problem I did. Saw motor hits the clamps? That top bit of the saw board, I found, needed to be longer.

One other thing I found... the slot bit doesn't fit through the hole in the base of the router. I had to lock the plunge down, instert the bit, then set the plunge to the right depth and lock it in place. I was terrified the plunge would unlock and the bit would shatter against the base and send bits of metal into my brain.

These are things not everyone posts before you start.

Yea.. the sawboard is a tad on the short side. I have found that if I clamp in the right spot I can usually clear the saw by just a bit. The router base hole is close... the bit barely fits and will hit if it is the wrong angle. I basically just adjust the stop on the router so it can not go that far and I don't have a problem.

Second side done. I went out and bought a pattern bit for my router. The bit has the ball bering guide on the top as opposed to a laminate cutting bit that has the bering on the bottom. Pic from home depot...

I put the finished first side on a sheet of MDF and traced it just in case my clamps came loose and I had to realign. Luckily it never came loose and the marks were not necessary. After clamping the sides together tightly I rough cut out the shape with my jig saw.

Next I used my pattern cutting bit and traced the edges counter clockwise. Took about 10 minutes with me having to stop and move the clamps around and shake the dust off.

After I had 2 maching sides that were identical. All I had to do was sand a few spots and use a squared off file in a corner to get it flush.

I have seen this cab in person and it is indeed sturdy. An especially nice detail is the location and attachment of the casters. They are solidly built into the frame but not visible from the outside or sides because the of the way the sides are attached and hang low.

The "half lap" joints on the frame are also a good idea. I may steal some of these ideas on future projects.

I have seen this cab in person and it is indeed sturdy. An especially nice detail is the location and attachment of the casters. They are solidly built into the frame but not visible from the outside or sides because the of the way the sides are attached and hang low.

The "half lap" joints on the frame are also a good idea. I may steal some of these ideas on future projects.

Thanks for the kind words timoe, and thanks for the joystick. I am sure it will to to good use.

I am still making progress on the cab. It just takes a lot of time to plan everything out so you don't make too many mistakes. I am prepping the cab to be painted. The side ledgers have been attached and I have patched all the outside holes from the screws. Next up will be to install the monitor and frame the ledgers that the bezel and plexi glass will attach to. Once that is done I can paint the entire cab.

First off thanks for the comments. MameNation was one of the cabinets that inspired me to make this. I have been to your web site many times. MissionControl's cab is wonder unto itself. I love the curved lines and the CP is second to none.

Work contines on the still unnamed cab. I know you guys are going to kill me if I do the black and blue combo but it works so nicely. Thaty being said I am trying to think outside the box and come up with at least one original idea for the artwork.

The CP box is made. Total height in the back is 9" tapering down to 8" in the front. Top dimensions are 33.5" x 15.5". I am still up in the air on my final CP layout... I keep going back and forth on a few designs.

I used Allen screws and T-Nuts to attach the back. That way if I need to get in to the cab I can just remove them with a little work and pull the back panel off. The plan so far is to go around the bottom of the cab with 4-5" aluminum diamond plating. This will add some decoration and protect the MDF from dings.

Bezel is cut and fitted with a straight edge and an exacto knife. The plastic easy snaps when scored. CP is mounted and ready to be drilled full of holes. I printed a layout of my buttons and joysticks to see how it felt on the cab. I still am not sure about the spinner and 4 way placement. You would have thought that the CP design would be one of the first things you do. Sigh.